MANILA, PHILIPPINES -- (Marketwire) -- 12/18/12 -- In today's highly connected world, with growing competition and increasingly challenging markets, a robust information and communications technology (ICT) system is integral to a company's success. These factors are forcing many businesses to consider embracing cloud computing, especially small and medium-sized firms. Validating the increasing popularity of subscription-based cloud services, DataOne today announced a collaboration with Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) to update their infrastructure and further enhanced 'CloudSecure', a portfolio of services including software-as-a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and voice services over the cloud.

As the leading independent provider of managed technology services in the Philippines, DataOne Asia (Philippines) Inc. is at the forefront of this phenomenon. Offering ICT as a subscription-based cloud service, DataOne allows clients to reap the fundamental benefit of cloud computing -- increased efficiency by concentrating fully on core competencies and devoting resources back to business critical activities.

"For many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), it's no longer practical to own and maintain an in-house ICT system," explains Alex Fernando, chief technology officer, DataOne Asia (Philippines) Inc. "Switching to the cloud will allow them to focus more on running an effective business while providing access to powerful computing resources and top-of-the-line technical support."

Lean machines: Companies on the CloudAccording to Fernando, moving towards subscription-based ICT services allows companies to realize considerable savings, a major consideration especially for SMBs. For instance, it reduces capital expenditures (capex) by eliminating the need to buy hardware, such as servers and network equipment, as well as software and applications. Moreover, operational expenditures (opex), such as electricity and maintenance, also decrease since services are on a pay-per-use basis.

"Through this type of arrangement, it's possible to drive down ICT costs by half -- perhaps even more -- as what they'll be paying for is a service," Fernando said. "It's also convenient for companies since they no longer have to replace equipment and update licenses."

Scalability is another key advantage presented by ICT outsourcing. This allows SMBs to quickly and easily respond to growth; by simply updating their subscription package, they can access additional features or resources, such as larger data storage space. With this flexibility, companies eschew the difficulties associated with the traditional IT procurement process, such as high costs, bureaucracy and protracted acquisition periods.

Shifting to cloud-based ICT services also helps companies lower their IT staffing costs as DataOne's clients and their needs are catered to by a 24/7 support service. This helps cut down response time to issues, especially during critical periods outside normal operation hours, and provides companies with the assurance that their subscriptions are being managed round the clock.

A Cisco Validated Design"Cisco systems and solutions incorporate a wide range of technologies and products into a portfolio of solutions that are developed to address the specific business needs of our customers," said Stephen Misa, country general manager for Cisco in Philippines. "The data center of DataOne is a Cisco® Validated Design, meaning the solutions they are using are designed, tested and documented by Cisco specifically for DataOne to facilitate and improve their operations."

DataOne consulted Cisco during the planning, design and architecture phase, adopting several Cisco technologies and solutions for the data center to meet the growing demands of the market, including concerns about security. DataOne decided to use the Cisco Unified Computing System for their compute virtualization infrastructure together with the Cisco Nexus® Unified Fabric switching platform. The Cisco Nexus switches provided the modularity needed for the data center environment, effectively allowing for infrastructure scalability, operational continuity and flexibility. The Cisco Unified Computing System essentially unifies network, compute, storage access, and virtualization into a single cohesive system. DataOne also incorporated Cisco's Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) to boost its security features.

"Organizations looking to adopt cloud services always place security as a top concern," explains Fernando. "Using Cisco's security solutions has allowed us, in turn, to offer our clients a stronger layer of protection."

Apart from this, he says many clients have also responded positively to the fact that Cisco provides the backbone for many of DataOne's offerings. This fact helps add credibility to DataOne's services and elicits confidence from customers and potential clients, many of whom are conscious of Cisco's reputation for quality and reliability.

While most of DataOne's current clients are enterprise customers, he expects to attract more SMB clients with his new infrastructure and suite of services enabled by Cisco technology. In fact, Fernando reveals that they are currently working with key partners to gain more visibility in this space, proving that the cloud represents the next big ICT shift for many SMBs.

"Although cloud is still in the infancy stage of acceptance here in the country, we've had significant inquiries from SMBs," Fernando said. "They are testing it, trying it and seeing its benefits for themselves."

About Cisco Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco products are supplied in the Philippines by the channel partners of Cisco Systems International B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

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